X-Men Anime: "The Return" Review

Is it just another X-Men story, or will it be something different?

Advance Review: I wasn't too excited when I first heard about this new X-Men anime series. After all, we've already had enough X-Men cartoons and movies to cause X-saturation. My initial impression is that this series will be more of the same, but it is certainly worth waiting to see what it turns into.

This pilot episode starts in classic "in media res" mode. X-Men fans will immediately recognize the pyrotechnic destruction of the Phoenix. I won't spoil the scene for you, so you'll just have to trust me when I say that this is a great start that brings to mind some of the best moments of the Phoenix Saga in the X-Men comics. Although this scene takes place one year before the events of this series, I hope it's a good sign of things to come.

But once we're beyond the energetic, mysterious, and slightly confusing opening moments, the episode shifts into normal story mode. The first thing I noticed was that the art isn't quite as crisp or smooth as the Iron Man anime, but it's definitely better than what we saw in the Wolverine anime, and Logan in this series is much, much better. We're back to the burly, wild, fearsome character we all know and love. He's portrayed by voice-acting veteran Steve Blum (who first made his mark as Spike in the English dub of Cowboy Bebop, and has played Wolverine several times before), and the script makes him every bit of the classic character he should be. There's a scene where Logan tries to go through airport security that is just priceless.

After the events detailed in the opening, the X-Men scattered across the world to pursue other interests. But when a mutant girl in Japan gets kidnapped under some highly suspicious circumstances, Xavier sends out the rallying call and he gets the band back together. There's a montage of scenes that chronicle what the team members have been up to, and it gives us a sense of what kind of people they are in this new incarnation. Storm is a bit more sassy than she's usually depicted, but she's still the voice of reason in the team and a source of soothing compassion. The legendary rivalry between Logan and Scott Summers is everything a reader of the comics would expect, and Scott spends a decent amount of time being emo, which is nothing new for the character. Beast looks more like a big blue werewolf with a full canine snout, which is a departure from his usual depictions which attempted to retain at least some hints of his humanity in his face. But, despite these small tweaks, the X-team is still mostly what you'd expect. That's a good thing... and a bad thing.

There is such a thing as being a little too familiar, and at this point it's difficult to see if this series will just rehash old X-Men themes or bring something new to the table. This story isn't packed to the brim with action, and the most significant battle is a little skirmish between Wolverine and Cyclops that's more about bravado than blood. It's the kind of thing we've seen from these characters for years, and although it's good to see the writing staying true to the characters, I hope that's not all we're going to see. Logan and Scott have been fighting over Jean Grey longer than most current fans of the franchise have been alive. This series will need some fresh ideas to put the old stories in a new light.

Initially, it's hard to know exactly where this series is going because the pilot just sets the foundation for the X-Men to reunite and head to Japan. The conflict in this story may bring the much-needed innovation to the story, but there are only a few glimpses of the characters who may be our antagonists. I can't tell what the series is trying to be yet, but so far what I've seen is certainly good and true to the X-Men spirit. Now we just have to wait and see what else this creative team can deliver.